Soothe
by okama-kenpo
Summary: Upon approaching him, she could hear the fluid in each inhale as he sucked shaking breaths into his lungs. He was sitting on his heels, hunched over, one arm wrapped around himself. The sand surrounding him was red in certain spots. [ A New World nakamaship one-shot between Usopp and Nami. ]


Upon approaching him, she could hear the fluid in each inhale as he sucked shaking breaths into his lungs. He was sitting on his heels, hunched over, one arm wrapped around himself. The sand surrounding him was red in certain spots.

This was one of those moments that Nami went on auto-pilot — when she was absolutely filled with dread, but an invisible force kept her feet moving forward. She squatted down in front of him.

He opened his eyes. Both his hands were stained completely red to his wrists.

Grabbing the discarded slingshot that laid forgotten next to them and sticking it through a belt loop, Nami said, "You'll be alright. Let's get you back to the Sunny."

Her voice did not betray her; for all the anxiety that was building in the pit of her stomach and all the knock-out punches her heart was doing against her ribcage, her words were smooth and calm and quiet. Usopp gave a mute nod and shifted, his legs shaking a bit as he rose with her to his feet.

"I got shot," he mumbled as she pulled his good arm around her and shouldered his weight.

"I see that," she replied, her eyes locked on the Sunny, which looked so very far away. It might as well have been on the other side of the world rather than the other side of that beach. But there was no other option — they had to get there. If she left him alone and went for help, he might… well, she didn't want to leave him alone just then.

"Twice," he added as they started walking, glancing at his other arm, which hung limp at his side, blood oozing out of two holes in his shoulder. Nami didn't look at the wound. "It was so embarrassing."

"Well," Nami said as she glanced back behind them — several large, very carnivorous-looking plants adorned the beach, many of them still writhing about, appearing more like killer aliens than mere plants, "I'm sure you did some damage, too."

Usopp didn't reply, but Nami sure as hell saw at least a few motionless bodies around where the sharpshooter had been taken down. Before they were separated, Usopp's attacks were usually non-lethal… but he had come to the New World prepared with an arsenal of decidedly deadlier weapons. Sure, they were plants — but these were plants that could certainly kill a man.

"You're managing it well."

"Can't feel it yet."

The sniper's old attacks seemed harmless compared to what he could dish out now — like razor-sharp bamboo that shot up from the ground and impaled those unlucky enough to be standing under its roots. And even then, that was probably a lot better than being literally eaten by a giant mutated Venus flytrap and digested over the course of a week or so.

Thinking of her Clima-Tact, Nami mused that Usopp had a natural talent for coming up with creative ways to harm a person. A lot of thought went into the different methods of debilitating his enemies, which, in the end, made him a formidable opponent in any case. Ultimately, however, she and Usopp both had to face the fact that they were regular people in a world of monsters. Fortunately, one of the sniper's strengths was, interesting enough, his ability to take a hit and keep going.

As they walked, she felt him growing heavier, and panic started to fill her chest again.

"We're almost there," she told him, and he gave no response. She had to force herself to even look over at him. His eyes were half-lidded and unfocused, and his head was starting to droop. "Hey…"

"Mhm?"

"You're gonna be fine," she told him again, finding herself at a loss for better words. He continued staring straight forward.

"Mhm."

He looked pale. She strained now to keep him upright. Despite him being one of the smaller members of the crew, he was still quite heavy to her.

They trudged along the beach, the ocean sucking at their heels with each wave, and the sand felt like it was pulling them down with every step. With only a few hundred feet left, Usopp was slowing down considerably.

"Hey, Usopp," Nami said, and he looked up at her, practically hanging from her shoulder at this point. "I'll… I'm gonna be right back, alright?"

"Yep," was all he said, and she lowered him to the sand. As soon as she released her grip on his wrist, his arm slid from her and fell into his lap. He sat on his knees, reaching up to press a hand against his injury.

"Okay, just…" she looked down at him, his head hanging low. "I'll be right back, alright? Two seconds."

"It's fine. I'll be fine," he said, his speech wet. His eyes were closed. "Just like you said."

She didn't wait any longer — taking off into a sprint, she was at the ship in seconds, screaming up to the deck as she stood in knee-deep water.

"Hey! Anyone! Luffy! Sanji!" she cried, and immediately, the cook's head poked out over the railing.

"Ah, Nami-swan! I was getting worried about you, I was wondering when you'd retu—"

"Get down here! I need your help!"

Sanji did not question her request. Without any sort of hesitation, he leapt overboard and landed next to her in the water. There was no explanation — he didn't need to ask any questions. Her face was a dead giveaway.

He ran with her back to where she'd left Usopp, who had crumbled and laid unconscious in the sand.

"Fucking shit," he cursed, flicking his cigarette away and bending down to grab the sniper. "Oi, wake up, asshole," he said as he yanked Usopp to his feet, and the sniper's eyes snapped open.

Before Usopp had a chance to even say anything, Sanji started walking as quickly as he could towards the ship, taking on the majority of Usopp's weight. Nami was quick to take up position on the other side of their sharpshooter, an arm around his waist, not wanting to move his injured shoulder too much.

The sniper began to slump, and in a matter of seconds, his feet were dragging behind them.

Navigator and chef hauled him onto the ship and across the deck, nearly running to Chopper's office. Sanji kicked open the door and the both of them threw Usopp onto the bed in the room.

"Ah!" was the only sound Chopper made at first. He was out of his chair and hovering over an unconscious Usopp immediately. Doctor-mode engaged, the reindeer turned his head to Nami and instructed, "He's in shock. Come here and press down, hard, and don't move."

Snapping out of her brief daze, Nami moved forward and pressed against the pad Chopper had laid across Usopp's shoulder.

"Sanji," the doctor said, rolling out a machine from the back of the room, "don't go anywhere."

The cook was already rolling up his sleeves.

"What're you doing?" Nami asked, looking over at him.

"Everyone on the ship can take Sanji's blood," Chopper explained in the middle of hooking up tubes and unwrapping needles. In the middle of his work, he tossed some gauze and tape over to the bed where the sniper laid.

"Oh." Nami glanced back down at Usopp, frowning.

"Excuse me," Chopper said in a small voice as he climbed up on a chair beside Nami. He poured disinfectant on the wound and wrapped Usopp's shoulder and chest and arm faster than she could really imagine possible for a creature with hooves. Faster than she could've done it.

"He's been shot. Don't you need to get the bullets out?" she asked.

"No. They didn't hit anything major — it would be worse and far more dangerous to remove them. It could cause nerve damage. The body can heal just fine around them." He glanced up at her. "Ideally he'll still have full use of his arm when we're done here."

She stood back, watching as Chopper hooked an IV up to both Sanji and Usopp. The chef had wheeled another bed up next to Usopp's and laid down on it, taking the gas mask the doctor handed him over his shoulder.

Nami suddenly felt very useless. Sanji caught her look and smiled. "Oh, stop, he'll be fine," he said, trying to soothe her. Chopper did not comment as he strapped a different mask to Usopp.

"I know that!" she replied, almost angrily, realizing her cheeks were wet. She went to wipe her face but stopped as she looked down at her hands and noticed finally how red they were.

"I know you know," Sanji said a bit softly, putting the mask over his face. He gave her a thumbs-up.

Without another word, she turned and left the room, taking a deep breath as she closed the door behind her. Looking up, she realized the rest of the crew had gathered outside, waiting for news.

"He's alright, right?" Luffy asked from under his straw hat.

She forced a grin and mimicked Sanji's thumbs-up. "Of course he is!"

She could see the captain's shoulders slump just slightly. "Ah," he said, laughing a little. "Of course he is," he echoed.

Everyone, seeming relieved, dispersed, with Robin mentioning she'd make them all sandwiches in Sanji's brief absence, which Luffy passionately endorsed. Nami stood in front of Chopper's door, watching them.

"Oi," Zoro said quietly, after everyone else had gone their own ways. He'd stuck around, standing off to the side. "You should probably go wash that blood off your hands…" He looked from her hands to her eyes. "So you don't get it all over Usopp when he wakes up later."

Nami smiled at him and nodded, taking her leave to the washroom. As she scrubbed, feeling numb overall, she hung onto Zoro's words.

When he wakes up later.

Smirking to herself, she focused on the swordsman's way of assuring her that he would indeed be waking up later, ignoring the thought of Usopp bleeding to death on Chopper's medical table.

She didn't go back into the med bay until she saw Sanji leaving it nearly an hour later, looking only slightly woozy.

"Is he gonna be alright?" she asked quietly as he reattached his cufflinks.

"You think something like that could kill Usopp? He can handle way more than that," the chef grinned. "No sweat."

When Nami finally slipped into Chopper's office, the reindeer smiled over at her. "I think he'll be just fine. He'll probably get a nice bout of pneumonia, but he'll survive it."

She exhaled the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and slumped into the chair in the corner of the room. "Good," was all she said.

Chopper didn't need to add anything further. This wasn't the first time the three of them had been in this room together under similar circumstances. The Weakling Trio was no stranger to battle wounds.

Every time someone got a little too close to death for comfort, another member of the crew always waited around in that room until recovery was achieved. It had become an unspoken tradition. Nami always stayed with Usopp. And likewise, on the (much rarer) occasions that she wound up in Chopper's office, the sniper always camped out in the very chair she was sitting in.

Nobody ever said anything about it. Nobody was willing to admit they were hanging around just in case… well, if someone happened to die, at least they wouldn't be alone.

She stayed in there for the rest of the evening, watching the rise and fall of Usopp's chest over the book she kept trying to read. The doctor had cleaned him up, and he didn't look so terrible now that he wasn't so… covered in blood and all.

A good amount of time must've passed, because in the next moment, she was waking up with a stiff neck and noticing it had grown dark. With a loud yawn, she shuffled over to the extra bed, which was back in its spot at the other end of the room. Throwing herself down on it, she hugged a pillow to her chest, closing her eyes.

Seconds later, she could hear the wheels of the infusion pump Usopp was hooked up to squeaking across the room, and she felt him fall into bed next to her. Wordlessly, she threw her arm around him, wary of the tubing still attached to his arm through the IV.

"Stop almost dying," she mumbled against him, and he shifted a little.

"Honestly, I really do try to avoid it," he smiled into the dark. "Good thing you're always around to save me."

"What if I'm not?"

"Then I'll probably die, so… probably you should stick around."

"I can't babysit you your whole life, idiot," she said quietly.

"Ah, but I want you to!"

She could practically hear him grinning as he spoke. "You should go back to your own bed. You might mess up your… hose thing."

He snorted. "I'm fine. It's fine. You're warm."

"What's Chopper got you on with that thing?"

"Opiates, mostly," Usopp smiled, and Nami rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, idiot. Just don't die, alright? Don't get shot anymore." Her voice was suddenly very small.

"I mean, really, Nami, I'll try my very best."

"You're such a stupid asshole," she whispered, her lips on his good shoulder.

* * *

**A/N:** thanks for reading! this was for a prompt over on tumblr for usona week, and i kinda barfed this up and it was complete enough to upload sooo there you go~


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